Many agricultural harvesters, such as combines use a rotary threshing and/or separating system. The system typically includes at least one rotor drivingly rotated within a rotor housing including a perforated concave spaced radially outwardly thereof. The rotor will often have a frusto-conical inlet end having a helical flight or flights therearound for conveying a flow of crop material into a space between the rotor and the housing. The main body of the rotor will typically have an array or layout of threshing elements, typically rasp bars, which protrude radially outwardly therefrom into the space for conveying a mat of the crop material along a helical path through the space. Rasp bars cooperate with the concave to separate larger components of the crop, namely crop residue commonly referred to as straw, which includes stalks, stems, cobs and the like, from the smaller grain and material other than grain (MOG).
The concave typically includes grates that may either be maintained in a fixed position or movable in a radial direction with respect to a rotor rotational axis to provide adjustable clearance with respect to the rotor. Generally, concave grates near the front of the threshing rotor are adjustable and referred to as “threshing concaves”, while the concave grates in the rear section are fixed in position and referred to as “separator grates”. To the rear of the separator grates is the rotor discharge section. Installation and removal of the separator grates is difficult due to their weight, access to mounting hardware, and minimal operator access space between the separator grates and other components of the harvester.
Accordingly, there is a need for a support system that addresses the problems identified above. More specifically, there is a need for a support system that permits simplified installation and removal of separator grates from exterior of the harvester.